Proceedings of the 1964 Clinic on Library Applications of ... - ideals

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22 to <strong>the</strong> codex form. A few undoubtedly grumbled over <strong>the</strong> change. What we do in such cases is to take <strong>the</strong>se individuals aside and tell <strong>the</strong>m that <strong>the</strong> codex catalog is what <strong>the</strong>y, as traditionalists, really should be fighting for, not against, because a codex represents a return to <strong>the</strong> state <strong>of</strong> affairs before Melvil Dewey. It was his card catalog, you remember, which supplanted <strong>the</strong> codex catalog in <strong>the</strong> fourth quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century. If <strong>the</strong>re is any doubt that this is not a precious example <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> concept "coming full circle," let me remind you that <strong>the</strong> card catalog was instituted for reasons <strong>of</strong> economy. Librarians were definitely cost conscious in those days. And resting on our laurels, we found ourselves complacently asleep, from which sleep outsiders chiefly have been trying to arouse us, or at least <strong>the</strong>y have been making <strong>the</strong> most noise. <strong>Clinic</strong>s like this attest in part to <strong>the</strong> fact that our pr<strong>of</strong>ession is indeed aroused and is forging ahead in <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> leadership. Were we to pursue considerations <strong>of</strong> cost to <strong>the</strong>ir logical end, we should expect that Monsanto would be thinking about taking ano<strong>the</strong>r step in utilizing computers for its technical information center operations, namely, <strong>the</strong> storage and retrieval <strong>of</strong> bibliographic retrieval points in depth. Monsanto may have already thought along <strong>the</strong>se lines and may have discarded <strong>the</strong> challenge on a cost basis, possibly because <strong>of</strong> current and forecast low -volume use. In any event, it would appear wise to wait, before any serious, final independent attempt is made along <strong>the</strong>se lines, until <strong>the</strong> Library <strong>of</strong> Congress reaches a decision to automate its operations and writes system and hardware specifications. While not expecting to be fully operational until 1972, <strong>the</strong> Library <strong>of</strong> Congress system will set <strong>the</strong> national pattern towards automating research libraries for generations to come. It appears ra<strong>the</strong>r mandatory, <strong>the</strong>refore, for <strong>the</strong> smaller research library and this covers about all industrial libraries and all but a handful <strong>of</strong> university and college libraries to reconsider expending dollars for systems and hardware that would automate resources, services, and operations. It appears clear that existing programs must be compatible with <strong>the</strong> system evolved by <strong>the</strong> Library <strong>of</strong> Congress if <strong>the</strong> vast potential for effective utilization <strong>of</strong> existing national resources ( interlibrary cooperation) is to be realized. In our society, scientific and technical writing constitute a national resource; this resource only becomes effective when it is placed under effective bibliographic control. In <strong>the</strong> area <strong>of</strong> scientific and technical disciplines, printed contributions are proliferating at <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> one magnitude each fifty years. In fiscal 1963, <strong>the</strong> Federal Government spent $15 billion for research and development ( R&D) . The National Science Foundation has reported that <strong>the</strong> generating federal agencies in 1963 expended $1.5 billion on STINFO (scientific and technical information) . So that you are not misled, let me point out that <strong>the</strong>se STINFO dollars
include expenditures for four services or capabilities, namely, (l) publication costs editing, artwork, typing, printing, distribution; (2) travel costs attending society meetings and sponsoring symposia or clinics (like this one) in order to "acquire" information; (3) library costs procurement and organization <strong>of</strong> recorded knowledge, circulation, reference, and literature search services; and (4) computer or data processing costs development and production <strong>of</strong> mechanized capability to store and retrieve information rapidly and reliably. Obviously, <strong>the</strong>re is a need to control literature. Effective bibliographic control, toge<strong>the</strong>r with timely availability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> literature, should prevent repeated reinvention <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> wheel. It was over six years ago, you remember, that L. H. Flett produced <strong>the</strong> challenging statistics in Information Resources A Challenge to American Science and Technology^ that 45 per cent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> R&D expenditure is wasted. Flett's reason is that recorded knowledge was not effectively utilized. I have not personally checked <strong>the</strong>se findings, but if Flett's figures are any indication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> magnitude <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problem, it would appear that several billion dollars are going down <strong>the</strong> drain annually. Bibliographic control costs money; such costs will be astronomical by 1975 should we continue to use <strong>the</strong> traditional methods <strong>of</strong> cataloging, indexing, storaging, and retrieving. These costs would even be excessive today if it were not for our practice <strong>of</strong> discarding certain works, thus exercising judgment not to catalog for admittedly arbitrary reasons; one overworked reason which you will easily recognize rests on format, particularly that associated with <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong> ephemera. We just cannot afford to go <strong>the</strong> route <strong>the</strong> rut <strong>of</strong> tradition. In a very few years, <strong>the</strong> cost problem will have been pre-empted by <strong>the</strong> bigger problem <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> chaotic, accelerating, and inundating, "publish -or -perish" paper storm, wherein backlogs <strong>of</strong> uncataloged (bibliographically unorganized) materials will mount. Recorded knowledge could not possibly be put to effective use; unwanted duplication will abound. It is in such an environment <strong>of</strong> rising costs and mounting backlogs that computer technology thrives. In an automated system, backlogs normally do not accrue, and <strong>the</strong> items, as well as <strong>the</strong>ir contents, will be under excellent bibliographic control at a cost per title much less than what can be achieved through traditional systems. In addition, computer technology insists on a systems approach which inevitably identifies o<strong>the</strong>r technical information center operations that are amenable to mechanization. It has already happened in this fashion at Monsanto, where <strong>the</strong> semi -automated codex catalog <strong>of</strong> 1962 has been programmed for fully automated (computer) production in 1963. It is <strong>the</strong> system analysis approach which quite likely produced Monsanto's decision "to integrate <strong>the</strong> cataloging system back to <strong>the</strong> purchasing step," according to Wilkinson. The fact 23
Page 1 and 2: THE COMPUTER-PRODUCED BOOK CATALOG:
Page 3 and 4: and tracings for one book. All addi
Page 5 and 6: 11 SET OF PUNCHED CARDS FOR ONE BOO
Page 7 and 8: SAMPLE TITLE CATALOG PAGE PAGE T 10
Page 9 and 10: placed on the left
Page 11 and 12: time would have been necessary to c
Page 13 and 14: problems in that area have been sol
Page 15: When ways in which to mechanize lib

Proceedings of the 1964 Clinic on Library Applications of ... - ideals

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